Just FYI, the following release went out on Business Wire today: ( BW)(PAC-BELL/AIDS-QUILT) AIDS Memorial Quilt begins cross-country journey News Editors/City Desk & Feature Writers EDITOR'S NOTE: A photo of volunteers loading more than 20,000 panels that comprise the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt onto trucks for the trip this week to Washington D.C. is available immediately via BW PhotoBank to any newspapers or media outlet with telephoto receiver or electronic darkroom that can accept overhead transmissions. To electronically retrieve photos call 214/416-3686. There is no charge to the media for this service. SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt, comprised of more than 20,000 panels from around the country and the world, is being loaded onto eight semi-trucks this week for the trip to Washington D.C. Covering an area equivalent to 12 football fields and weighing 30 tons, the Quilt will be displayed on Oct. 9-11 on the grounds of the Washington monument. NAMES Project volunteers have been working long hours preparing the panels for the cross-country journey. Nearly 100 volunteers are loading the hundreds of boxes of panels which are decorated by lovers, friends and families in memory of those who have died of AIDS. The Quilt will be transported from the NAMES Project headquarters in San Francisco to Oakland, where it will be transferred onto a train for the 2,792-mile trip to Washington D.C. It will arrive in Washington on Oct. 6 where it will be joined with memorial panels from 18 countries around the world. More than 300,000 people are expected to attend the display of the Quilt, which will take place in conjunction with an enormous gathering of AIDS-related service organizations and volunteers. The event, coming three weeks before the presidential election, will serve as a rallying point for celebrities and AIDS activists from around the country. The October display marks the fifth anniversary of the AIDS Memorial Quilt. It was first displayed in October of 1987 and consisted of 1,920 panels. Today, the Quilt has increased tenfold in size and serves as an international symbol of the spread of the AIDS pandemic. To purchase discounted fares for the event in Washington D.C. contact the NAMES Project Travel desk at 1-800/926-2631. For discounted hotel accommodations, call 1-800/554-2220. To volunteer or donate financial support call 1-800/221-NAMES. For further information on making a panel, call the NAMES Project, headquartered at 2362 Market Street, San Francisco, Calif. 94114, 415/863-5511. -0- Note to Editors: AIDS Quilt panel makers from your local area may be available for interviews. Many are planning to attend the Washington display. Please see list at the end of this release. -0- *T Following is a list of AIDS Quilt panel makers available for interviews. For areas not listed, contact The Names Project. CALIFORNIA Long Beach (General contact-Linda Tucker, 310/634-9610) David Fish (a) made panel for lover of 11 years, who died in June. Now has AIDS himself. 310/498-1210 Sue Cave (a) made panel for son. Founder of local AIDS support group. 310/591-9050 or 594-0352 Danna Reese made panel for sister. Now raising sister's two-year-old. 310/537-5577 Los Angeles (General contact - Mike Willard, 213/874-4570 or 818/240-7600) Eileen Rankel (a), a grandmother, has made several panels for friends. 818/787-5828 April Ann Jordan (a) made panel for brother. Wrote to Bush urging him to visit Quilt. 213/223-3848 or 228-3889. Anthony Guthmiller (a) making nine panels concurrently. 213/223-9343 Marcy Etlinger (a) and sister Susan made panel for mother. Mother originally hid diagnosis from family; later volunteered at local AIDS center. 818/783-0769 Roxy Ventola (a) made multi-part panel for husband and baby son, who died in same week. Has left one portion blank for self. 310/822-2498 Riverside County (General contact - Margaret Smith-Whisker, 714/359-8440 or 352-9196) Betty Ellis (a) made panel two years after son's death. 714/882-8889 Jan Hall (a) and family made panel for brother. Panel making played important role in family healing process. 714/370-0677 or 796-4809, ext. 4352 Dave Gana (a) made panel for lover. Local AIDS activist and educator. 714/769-9045 HAWAII 32 volunteers, including one mother from Maui, bringing 16 panels to DC. Contact Scott Foster, 808/944-9510, or Rita Andrade, 808/735-1481 ILLINOIS Chicago (General contact - Tico Valle, 312/472-4460) Panel maker Laurie Cannon (a) is AIDS activist, works with free food program for AIDS patients. 312/262-4638 Panel maker Karen Coleman (a) is nurse on AIDS ward at Illinois Masonic Medical Center. 312/296-5371 Paul Hook (a), Cook County Hospital, has worked on three giant panels commemorating lives of 709 AIDS patients. Panels became community project, including inner city students. 312/633-3001 or 633-5182 KENTUCKY (General contact - Katie McCormick, 606/233-3855) Lexington Alan Mickel made panel for wife who got AIDS at age 67 from blood transfusion. Panel made from her two favorite dresses. Alan active in AIDS education and counseling. 606/223-5686 Louisville J. Pascel Brown made several panels for friends. 502/634-5948 MAINE Portland Frannie Peabody (a), 89, made panel for grandson and founded AIDS support group. Named a ``Point of Light'' by President Bush. 207/772-2023 MICHIGAN Detroit (General contact - Thomas Dow, 313/898-8446) Carol Petcort (a) made quilt for son. Estranged from family over issue; gets emotional support from fellow panel makers. (313/977-3943 Father Rich Bartoscek (a) made panel for parishioner. Active in local AIDS issues; hosted candlelight vigil at church. 313/372-4638 Michael Valdez (a) and Michelle Drenberg (a) raised funds to transport 31 AIDS patients to DC. 313/285-1517 or 753-9117 MISSOURI St Louis (General contact - John Hilgemann, 314/664-1410) Charles Koehler made panels for friends who sang with St. Louis Symphony. 314/644-9186 Holly McClaire and mother made panel for brother. 314/868-1370 or 848-6578 Pat Levy made panels for son and friends. 314/469-1781. NEW JERSEY (Central) (General contact - Bill Jones, 609/275-5198) Jackie Johnson made panels for her three sons. 908/495-1375 Employees (a) in pediatric AIDS ward of Robert W. Johnson Medical Center made large panel for patients. Contact Debbie Bates, 908/874-6413, or Phoenix Smith, 908/247-5166 OKLAHOMA Tulsa Val Bode (a) and family made panel for brother. Says process important in helping children with grief process. 918/561-1875 or 749-0063 Terrye Williams (a), director of regional AIDS support group, led effort to create panel for organization's clients. 918/627-0601 Jim Perry (a) led hospice care team to make panel for first client to die. Also made panel for friend. 918/627-0326 OREGON Portland Sarah Whitmire (a), 86, made panel for daughter who died at age 55. Daughter lived only two months after telling family she had AIDS. 206/944-1654 TEXAS Houston (General contact - Keith Crawford, 713/975-7359 or 870-5838) Pete Martinez (a) made panels for friends. Helped found local Names chapter. 713/868-9837 Lynn and Lynne Stewart, both with AIDS, recently married. Active in Names education projects. 713/692-1465 Jerry and Delores McCall (a) made panels for son and son's caregivers who later died. Involved in AIDS education efforts in schools. 713/689-5674 Forth Worth/Tarrant County (General contact - Ron Streff, 817/763-5544 or 33-NAMES) Genie Quincy made panel for son; very involved in AIDS support programs. 817/261-0874 Rick Johnson has made panels for friends; does AIDS education for schools and churches. 817/731-2437 Dr. Kathryne McDorman, professor at TCU, has made panel for friend. Organized campus quilt display for World AIDS Day. 817/921-7288 or 926-4904 (a) Going to Washington --30--eh/crd/ahc/sf CONTACT: The Names Project, San Francisco Linda Boyd or Ben Carlson, 415/863-5511 The Rowland Co., San Francisco Bob Polzoni or Stacy MacLean, 415/512-3512